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| {1}DIO, The International
Journal of Scientific History www.dioi.org | DIO, Mezhdunarodnyi zhurnal nauchnoi istorii www.dioi.org
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| Physics Department, State University of Paraiba (UEPB), Brazil roberto.andrade.martins@gmail.com
| Fizicheskii fakul'tet Gosudarstvennogo universiteta Paraiba (UEPB), Braziliya roberto.andrade.martins@gmail.com
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| Leopold Courvoisier (1873-1955) was an observer at the Berlin /
Babelsberg astronomical observatory from 1905 up to his retirement in
1938.
| Leopol'd Kurvuaz'e (1873-1955) byl nablyudatelem v Berlinskoi /
Babel'sbergskoi astronomicheskoi observatorii s 1905 goda do svoei
otstavki v 1938 godu.
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| Most of his work was traditional astrometrical observation resulting in the publication of several star catalogues.
| Bol'shinstvo ego rabot byli tradicionnymi astrometricheskimi
nablyudeniyami, kotorye v rezul'tate priveli k publikacii ryada zvezdnyh
katalogov.
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| A relevant part of his publications was devoted, however, to
another subject: the attempt to detect the motion of the solar system
through the ether.
| Znachimaya chast' ego publikacii byla posvyashena, odnako, drugoi teme: popytke obnaruzheniya dvizheniya Solnechnoi sistemy cherez efir.
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| Most of Courvoiser's search for measurable effects of the ether was based upon two principles.
| Bol'shinstvo iz popytok Kurvuaz'e obnaruzhit' izmerimye effekty efira byla osnovana na dvuh principah.
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| According to him, (1) the angles of incidence and reflection of
light could be different, relative to the proper reference system of
the mirror, if it moved through the ether; and (2) the Lorentz
contraction of the Earth due to its motion through the ether produced
observable effects relative to the Earths reference system.
| Po ego slovam, (1) ugly padeniya i otrazheniya sveta mozhet byt'
drugim, po otnosheniyu k sobstvennoi sisteme otscheta zerkala, esli ono
dvizhetsya cherez efir, i (2) sokrashenie Lorenca dlya Zemli iz-za ee
dvizheniya cherez efir proizvodit nablyudaemye effekty po otnosheniyu k
sisteme otscheta Zemli.
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| Both principles, of course, violate the principle of relativity.
| Oba principa, konechno, narushayut princip otnositel'nosti.
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| Courvoisier presented theoretical arguments attempting to show that there should exist second order measurable effects.
| Kurvuaz'e predstavil teoreticheskie argumenty, pytayas' pokazat', chto dolzhny sushestvovat' izmerimye effekty vtorogo poryadka.
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| He searched for those effects using both astronomical
observations and laboratory experiments and claimed that he had measured
a velocity of the solar system of about 600 km/s.
| On iskal eti effekty s pomosh'yu kak astronomicheskih nablyudenii,
tak i laboratornyh eksperimentov i utverzhdal, chto on izmeril velichinu
skorosti Solnechnoi sistemy primerno 600 km/s.
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| This paper presents a description and analysis of Courvoisers ether researches.
| Eta stat'ya predstavlyaet soboi opisanie i analiz efirnyh issledovanii Kurvuaz'e.
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| Leopold Courvoisier was born on 24 January 1873 in Rihen near Basel (Switzerland).1 His father Ludwig Georg Courvoisier was a physician and was in charge
of the surgery chair of the University of Basel.
| Leopol'd Kurvuaz'e rodilsya 24 yanvarya 1873 goda v Rigene bliz Bazelya (Shveicariya). 1 Ego otec Lyudvig Georg Kurvuaz'e byl vrachom i vozglavlyal kafedru hirurgii
v universitete Bazelya.
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| Leopold (or Leo, as he was usually called) passed away in the same city where he was born, on 31 December 1955.
| Leopol'd (ili Leo, kak ego obychno nazyvali) skonchalsya v tom zhe gorode, gde on rodilsya, 31 dekabrya 1955 goda.
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| However, most of his professional life was spent in Germany.
| Tem ne menee, bol'shuyu chast' svoei professional'noi zhizni on provel v Germanii.
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| Courvoisier exhibited an interest for astronomy since he was 15 years old.
| Kurvuaz'e proyavil interes k astronomii, kogda emu bylo 15 let.
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| In 1891 he began his university studies, first in Basel and later in {4}
Strasbourg - at a time when this city belonged to Germany.
| V 1891 godu on nachal uchebu v universitete, snachala v Bazele, a
zatem vStrasburge - v to vremya, kogda etot gorod prinadlezhal Germanii.
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| In 1897 he completed his dissertation, on the absolute height
of the pole as observed from Strasbourg (Die absolute Polhöhe von
Straßburg).
| V 1897 godu on zakonchil svoyu dissertaciyu po nablyudaemoi iz
Strasburga absolyutnoi vysote polyusa ("Die absolute Polhöhe von
Straßburg).
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| The next year he became an assistant observer at the Königstuhl
astronomical observatory near Heidelberg, under Karl Wilhelm
Valentiner.
| V sleduyushem godu on stal pomoshnikom nablyudatelya v
astronomicheskoi observatorii Kenigshtul' nedaleko ot Haidel'berga, pod
rukovodstvom Karla Vil'gel'ma Valentinera.
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| In 1900 he obtained his Doctor degree in Straßburg.
| V 1900 godu on poluchil doktorskuyu stepen' v Strasburge.
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| From 1905 onward he worked at the Berlin / Babelsberg
observatory as an astronomical observer, under the direction of Karl
Hermann Struve.
| S 1905 i dalee on rabotal v Berlinskoi / Babel'sbergskoi
observatorii kak astronomicheskii nablyudatel' pod rukovodstvom Karla
Germana Struve.
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| In 1913 the Berlin observatory moved to its new site, in Babelsberg,2 and one year later Courvoiser became its chief observer and professor.
| V 1913 godu Berlinskaya observatoriya pereehala na novoe mesto, v Babel'sberg, 2, a god spustya Kurvuaz'e stal tam glavnym nablyudatelem i professorom.
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| He worked at Babelsberg up to his retirement in 1938, when he was 65 years old.
| On rabotal v Babel'sberge do svoei otstavki v 1938 godu, v vozraste 65 let.
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| In 1943 he moved to his birthplace, where he kept making observations and publishing papers up to his death.
| V 1943 godu on pereehal na rodinu, gde on prodolzhal proizvodit' nablyudeniya i publikovat' stat'i do ego smerti.
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| Back to Switzerland, he was the editor of several of Leonhard Euler's astronomical works.
| V Shveicarii on byl redaktorom neskol'kih astronomicheskih rabot Leonarda Eilera.
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| Courvoisiers main astronomical contribution was a large series
of routine astrometrical observations and the production of star
catalogues.
| Glavnyi astronomicheskii vklad Kurvuaz'e sostoit v bol'shoi serii
rutinnyh astrometricheskih nablyudenii i publikacii zvezdnyh katalogov.
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| Volumes 5, 6 and 7 of Poggendorff's Biographisch-literarisches
Handwörterbuch provide references of about 10 large works (astronomical
catalogues) besides nearly 100 minor contributions by him.3 However, Courvoisiers work was not restricted to common astrometrical observations.
| Toma 5, 6 i 7 izdaniya Biographisch literarisches Handwörterbuch
Poggendorfa dayut ssylki na primerno 10 krupnyh rabot (astronomicheskih
katalogov) Kurvuaz'e, pomimo okolo sta menee znachitel'nyh ego
publikacii. 3 Tem ne menee, rabota Kurvuaz'e ne ogranichivaetsya obshimi astrometricheskimi nablyudeniyami.
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| From his tedious measurements there soon came out evidences that he regarded as disproof of the theory of relativity.
| Iz ego utomitel'nyh izmerenii vskore poyavilis' dokazatel'stva
togo, chto on rassmatrivaet kak oproverzhenie teorii otnositel'nosti.
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| Courvoisier did not accept the theory of relativity.
| Kurvuaz'e ne prinyal teoriyu otnositel'nosti.
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| He believed there was an ether, and attempted to measure the absolute velocity of the solar system relative to this medium.
| On schital, chto sushestvuet efir, i popytalsya izmerit' absolyutnuyu skorost' Solnechnoi sistemy otnositel'no etoi sredy.
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| From 1921 to his death, Courvoisier published a series of over
30 papers where he described the theoretical basis of his search and the
several experimental techniques he used in attempting to detect the
motion of the Earth relative to the ether.
| S 1921 goda do svoei smerti, Kurvuaz'e opublikoval seriyu iz
bolee chem 30 rabot, v kotoryh on opisal teoreticheskuyu osnovu ego
issledovanii i neskol'ko eksperimental'nyh metodov, kotorye on
ispol'zoval v popytke obnaruzhit' dvizhenie Zemli otnositel'no efira.
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| Some of his measurements used astronomical observations; other
measurements depended on other physical effects (gravitational, etc.).
| Nekotorye iz ego izmerenii ispol'zovali astronomicheskie
nablyudeniya; drugie izmereniya zavisyat ot drugih fizicheskih effektov
(gravitacionnye i t.d.).
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| As a result of his observations he claimed that he had measured
a velocity of the solar system of about 600 km/s in a direction close
to 75 right ascension and +40 declination.
| V rezul'tate svoih nablyudenii on utverzhdal, chto on izmeril
skorost' Solnechnoi sistemy, primerno sostavlyayushuyu 600 km / s v
napravlenii, blizkom k 75 pryamogo voshozhdeniya i +40 skloneniya.
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| {5} .... 1. Leopold Courvoisier (about 30
years old).4
| Ris. 1. Leopol'd Kurvuaz'e (v vozraste okolo 30 let). 4
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| The papers describing those researches were published in
several scientific journals - especially Astronomische Nachrichten,
Physikalische Zeitschrift and Zeitschrift für Physik.
| Stat'i, opisyvayushie eti issledovaniya, byli opublikovany v
neskol'kih nauchnyh zhurnalah osobenno v Astronomische Nachrichten,
Physikalische Zeitschrift für i Zeitschrift Physik.
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| His work was largely ignored and had a small impact.
| Ego raboty v znachitel'noi stepeni ignorirovalis' i imeli neznachitel'noe vliyanie.
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| A few authors (e.g. Ernest Esclangon and Dayton Miller) who
also claimed they had observed effects due to the ether have cited his
works.
| Neskol'ko avtorov (naprimer, Ernest Esklangon i Deiton Miller),
kotorye takzhe utverzhdali, chto oni nablyudali effekty, svyazannye s
efirom, ssylalis' na ego proizvedeniya.
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| {6} Historians of science have also neglected
those researches,5
although they present the largest set of empirical results that was
ever published against the theory of relativity by a professional
scientist.
| Istoriki nauki takzhe prenebregali etimi issledovaniyami, 5,
hotya oni predstavlyayut soboi krupneishii nabor empiricheskih rezul'tatov,
kotorye byli kogda-libo opublikovany protiv teorii otnositel'nosti
professional'nym uchenym.
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| Courvoisier exhibited an outstanding theoretical and
experimental skill, and his results can be regarded as one of the
strangest puzzles in the history of relativity.
| Kurvuaz'e pokazyval vydayusheesya teoreticheskoe i
eksperimental'noe masterstvo, i ego rezul'taty mozhno rassmatrivat' kak
odnu iz samyh strannyh zagadok v istorii teorii otnositel'nosti.
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| Courvoisier's earliest involvement with relativity was an outcome of his routine measurements of star positions.
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